1. Field of the Invention
Exemplary embodiments of the present invention relate to a system and method for recognizing a speed limit sign using a front camera, and more particularly, to a speed limit sign recognition system and method using a front camera which can track a traffic sign continuously appearing in images which are obtained by a photographing speed limit sign located in front of a driver using a camera mounted on the front of the vehicle, recognize an internal numeral of the traffic sign, and inform the driver of an actual limit speed through the recognized numeral.
2. Description of the Related Art
Intelligent vehicles employ systems, such as a Driver Assistance System (DAS), a Lane Detection Warning (LDW), a High Beam Assist (HBA), a Forward Collision Warning (FCW), and the like, for the purpose of providing drivers with “safety” and “convenience”.
In such an intelligent vehicle, a technology to which a computer vision system is applied intends to synthesize, process, and apply the information on the environment of the vehicle through a camera, and thus many application, such as a lane departure warning, a distance control assist system, a pedestrian identification system, a parking assist system, a traffic sign recognition, and the like are made.
Of the applications, the traffic sign recognition is one of important technologies which cannot be overlooked when safety is considered, but the traffic sign recognition has not made much progress as comparison with other technologies. The traffic sign recognition can have several types of traffic signs as the objects thereof, but a research on speed limit sign recognition thereof has been made relatively little against the importance thereof.
The results of the conventional researches show a very high recognition rate with respect to triangular and circular traffic signs (except for a speed limit sign) according to the shapes of traffic signs, but show a relatively low recognition rate with respective to the speed limit sign.